Canucks Army Postgame #18: Lost, Overwhelmed

The Canucks looked like two different teams tonight. Through the first half of the game, they looked sluggish and timid, giving up the middle far too often and looking permissive through the neutral zone. In the second half, however, they were as good as we’ve seen them this season, and they were able to come away with the 3-2 win in OT. 

Astonishingly, the Canucks have seven wins, and have led for just 31 minutes at even strength over the entire season. What a time to be alive.

The Canucks appeared to have opened the scoring when Michael Chaput tipped an Alex Edler wrist shot past Louis Domingue midway through the first frame. The Coyotes challenged the goal, and it was successfully overturned on a questionable goaltender interference call.

After the Coyotes opened the second with  goals from Anthony DeAngelo and ex-Canuck Brad Richardson, first-line right winger Brandon Sutter put the Canucks within one off a beautiful no-look pass from Daniel Sedin. Daniel responded with a goal of his own shortly thereafter.

The third period solved nothing, so the game was headed to overtime. Partway through OT, Ben Hutton was sprung on a breakaway, and Dylan Strome just couldn’t catch him. Hutton couldn’t score on the play, but he drew a penalty shot, and made no mistake this time, putting the game away with a nifty backhand.

-Hutton’s had an up-and-down year so far, and tonight was no exception. He tied for the lead amongst Canucks defensemen in CF%, but also had a couple of ugly turnovers in the third period that nearly cost the team the game. That’s just how it goes with young defenders sometimes. Ben Hutton is 23, in his second year as a pro, and he’s already flashed high-end skill and hockey sense. Patience is key. 

-Hutton had only one penalty shot over the course of his college career, but he looked like a seasoned veteran tonight, deking out Louis Domingue and putting it through the five-hole on the backhand. You have to think that feels pretty nice given all the heat he’s taken over the past few days. 

– The rest of the Canucks defence had a decent night as well, with Edler, Hutton, and Stecher all launching 4 shots on net apiece. Stecher’s poise and confidence continues to impress me, and he’s been a natural fit with Alex Edler on the top pairing in Chris Tanev’s absence. He’s going to be tough to take out of the lineup when Tanev returns.

– How many players have seen a significant uptick in their goal production riding shotgun with Henrik and Daniel Sedin? Brandon Sutter was the benefactor of those Wonder Twin powers tonight, and that line was the Canucks’ best. Willie Desjardins has been criticized heavily in the past for playing Sutter, a natural centre, on the wing with Henrik and Daniel, but on the surface it makes sense. Sutter is fast and his shot is his best offensive asset. I wouldn’t advocate sending that line over the boards on a regular basis, but if Desjardins wants to give it a shot once in awhile, why not try it? 

– Former Canucks Army Managing Editor Dimitri Filipovic was a guest during the second intermission, and he killed it, to no one’s surprise. Dan Murphy deserves his share of the credit too, though. Dan has been a strong advocate for getting analytics onto the Canucks broadcast for years now, and he’s been instrumental in getting different voices like Dimitri, Thomas Drance, and Kevin Woodley on the intermission panel. Frankly, he’s still very underrated as a broadcaster. He’s simply one of the best in the business. 

-On a final note, tonight was the Canucks’ Hockey Fights Cancer night.  The players wore lavender jerseys with the names of who they were fighting for on their nameplates, in honour of all those that have fought, won, and lost their battles with cancer. Jannik Hansen showed up to the optional skate this morning with the name of a childhood friend on his back, in spite of suffering a broken rib against the leafs on November 5th. It’s little things like this that have helped cement his reputation as one of the foremost leaders in the Canucks’ dressing room.